Merc teach a strategy masterclass
IT was arguably the best Spanish Grand Prix in recent memory, even though it retained all the characteristics of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Here we look at four things we learnt from Sunday’s GP.
Quiet battle rages
It is easy to just concentrate on the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen and then also forget that their battle for supremacy extends into the paddock.
On Sunday, Toto Wolff and Co dished up a masterclass in tactics, one that Christian Horner of Red Bull couldn’t answer.
On the 42nd lap, Hamilton came in for a pitstop – his second of the afternoon – to change to a fresher set of medium compound tyres, which placed him some 20 seconds behind leader Verstappen.
An inspired strategy, it paid dividends on the 60th lap after Hamilton hunted down and overtook Verstappen to claim the victory six laps later.
Red Bull had two options when this played out: Keep Verstappen out on track, or bring him in. They went with the latter, and it ultimately cost them a second win of the season.
Wolff is a serial winner, and right now he is beating Horner.
Max didn’t lose
The young Dutchman did everything right on Sunday, and although he lost and it will be disappointing, he must remain positive.
He crucially took the lead on the first corner of the race, and from thereon kept a level head, controlled the race and the pace of the following Hamilton, and managed his tyres with aplomb for 60 laps.
He made no mistakes and when Hamilton overtook him, he received a refreshed set of red compound tyres, and nailed the fastest lap of the race easily to secure an allimportant point.
His second-place finish had nothing to do with an error on his part, but rather the masterstroke that Mercedes pulled off.
Curse of the second seat
First it was Daniel Ricciardo, then Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, and now it is Sergio Perez.
Red Bull have a second seat problem that borders on the supernatural, and it continues to put the team in vulnerable positions.
“Checo” qualified eighth at Catalunya and finished fifth, but if Red Bull are to compete against the Silver Arrows to maximum effect, the Mexican needs to be up among the front-runners.
Mercedes got away with their strategy this weekend because the second Red Bull posed no threat to their plans, and in effect Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were racing only against Verstappen.
The pressure is on Perez to get up to speed immediately – he admitted as much after this race – and give all of Red Bull a fighting chance, otherwise the narrative of the season will follow the same script as it did last weekend.
Speaking of teammates ...
Although Bottas gave Mercedes options with his third-place finish, it seems to have been done begrudgingly on the Finn’s part.
Running on a different strategy to Hamilton, Bottas again showed none of the pace of his teammate, but it didn’t stop him from making a statement.
On the 52nd lap he went so far as to seemingly defy team orders. Instead of letting the Brit pass, he assumed a defensive posture, held up Hamilton for a few moments, and tried to close him out on the racing line.
Bottas has previously said he detests team orders, especially after the 2019 Russian GP, and his deviation from the team in that singular moment perhaps shows a driver who is tired of following the status quo.